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Like the other existing investments, mutual funds do have their advantages and disadvantages. It is important to know these before you make your final decision and invest in mutual funds. Doing your research is a vital action on your part. In this post, both the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds will be presented to help you decide rationally and sensibly.

Definition of Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are a type of investment vehicles comprised of a pool of funds from several investors to meet the purpose of investing in a number of securities like bonds, stocks, currency exchange and other similar assets.

These are being managed by money managers (those who are in-charge of investing the fund’s capital to generate capital gains and achieve profits for the investors). The portfolio is structured and conserved in such a way that it matches the objectives of the fund as specified in its prospectus.

Advantages of Mutual Funds

Instant Diversification

Mutual funds invest in a wide array of securities. If you are aiming for a diversified portfolio, then investing in mutual funds is for you. A mutual fund can offer you with a basket of stocks.

Account Size Does Not Matter

It is perfectly alright if you have a small-sized investment account or if you only have limited capital to begin with, since a mutual fund offers you a wide range of exposure to several stocks, you do not need to buy such stocks yourself. Once you, chose a mutual fund, you are given access to diverse portfolios and to participate equally in the gain or loss of the fund.

Specialized Money Management

Fund managers are considered as experts in the investing field. Hence, mutual fund companies have more capability and resources than the average individual investor.

In mutual funds, the investment decisions are not reliant on you. Chances are your decision would not be regarded unless you will be called for some quarterly investor calls and updates. This in turn translates to a lack of interpersonal connection both to your account and to the people in charge of the fund. It can mean difficulty for you when managing your portfolio. The decision to buy or sell an asset is dependent on your manager.

Costs are an Issue

Costs are a part of a mutual fund’s reality. As a matter of fact, such costs can decrease your overall profits.

Fluctuating Earnings

The possibility that the value of a mutual fund will decline is high. Like other investments, you might end up with no return at all. This is due to the fact that mutual funds are affected by the price fluctuations of the stocks that constitute the fund. It does not mean that it is being run by a professional manager, the performance would be impressive.

No Insurance

Mutual funds are not insured against losses – therefore, there is a possibility that losses can occur or even losing your entire investment.

Conclusion

Mutual funds both have the gains and downsides, and as an investor, you should be able to evaluate such carefully. The probability of success in a mutual fund tends to increase if you know what you got yourself into and if you totally understand the basics.

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This week will be a busy week up ahead for the market community, a lot will be put in the spotlight but the one thing that will stand out is the geopolitical turmoil the US created after the strikes it made in Syria last week.

Financial Institutions and Banks

This will be the first of the big weeks in the financial market, and for this week, all the highlights are focused on the top financial institutions and banks. The scheduled reports for this week, this Thursday, are from prominent banks and financial institutions JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, and Citigroup Inc.

The banks have been on a rollercoaster of a ride from the past months under the new Trump administration. Some other factors that may have triggered the fiscal stimulus hopes for the financial institutions are; deregulations talks and the Fed’s decision to be sterner and hiking the interest rate for a couple of times this week.

Inflation off The Bat

There will also a big debacle for Friday because of the exclusive inflation data that will be unveiled; the data include whole March’s progress. With the Fed’s recent hikes and its latest meeting last Wednesday hinted that if the inflation data continue to roll, the central bank may and will increase another three or four interest hikes this year.

G-7 Meets in Italy

The G-7 is a group of countries that consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries have started a 2-day summit meeting today in Italy after the alarming attack the US made against Syria, investors and the market community continues to keep track on what would happen in the growing geopolitical crisis.

Then entirety of the 2-day meeting is expected to be disclosed at a press conference dated this coming Tuesday Eastern Time.

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Expense Ratio is a rare word to stumble upon, it is a word prevalent in-between companies and it varies on more private talks the market community has seen. So going back to Expense Ratio, it is actually a measure of what it costs an investment company to operate a mutual fund.

You may ask how expense ratio is determined; well according to the Investopedia: An expense ratio is determined through an annual calculation, where a fund’s operating expenses are divided by the average dollar value of its assets under management (AUM). Operating expenses are taken out of a fund’s assets and lower the return to a fund’s investors. It is also known as the management expense ratio (MER).

All You Need To Know About Expense Ratio

Expense ratio varies very differently on each type of fund, operating expenses vary widely. One of the biggest parts or the crucial component of operating expenses lies on the fee paid to a fund’s investment manager or advisor.

Further costs include recordkeeping, custodial services, taxes, legal expenses, and accounting and auditing fees. Investopedia makes a clear distinction between funds, “expenses that are charged by the fund as reflected in the fund’s daily net asset value (NAV) and do not appear as a distinct charge to shareholders.”

Funds to Keep In Mind

There are two different expense ratio fund; Index Funds and Actively Managed Funds are both type of funds to keep a list on. Index Funds usually carry very low expense ratios; the managers who oversee these funds are plainly repeating a given index, so the need to have a full management team on staff is deliberately discarded.

Actively managed funds, on the other hand, employs teams of research analysts examining companies as potential investments. By coming up with a team, creating and managing this team adds more costs that are then get passed on to shareholders in the form of higher and bigger expense ratios.

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If you’ve been around the Forex trading market, you’ve probably heard or saw FCA somewhere on those trading websites and what have you. First of all, FCA stands for Financial Conduct Authority; they are the regulator for over 56,000 financial services and firms and financial markets in the UK and the prudential regulator for over 24,000 of those firms.

What Does FCA Do?

FCA is the pioneer for the safer and more honesty financial market, they promote fairness and effectiveness for all consumers all over the world. FCA said, “It is our aim to make markets work well – for individuals, for business, large and small, and for the economy as a whole.”

The FCA started on April 1, 2013. They then started to grow and grow each year, regulating over 56,000 financial and the prudential regulator for over 24,000 of these firms. FCA governs 2.2 million people that are employed in the UK financial service who contributes 65.6 billion pounds in tax to the UK economy.

How Does FCA Do All The Regulating?

According to FCA’s website, this is how;

Our strategic objective is to ensure that the relevant markets function well and our operational objectives are to:

Protect consumers – we secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers.

Protect financial markets – we protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system.

Promote competition – we promote effective competition in the interests of consumers.

The Financial Conduct Authority continues as a public body that is funded completely by the firms and financial service providers they regulate by charging those fees. They are also accountable to the Treasury, which is responsible for the UK’s financial system, and to the parliament.

Finally, they also work with several consumer groups, trade associations, and professional bodies domestic regulators, EU legislators, and a wide range of other stakeholders.

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We all know that the dollar is the native currency in the United States, but there are actually more countries that call their currency the dollar. These are some countries that share the same currency name with the land of the brave!

Canadian Dollar

Canadian Dollar or CAD for its ISC code is the currency people in Canada use! It is mostly represented as C$ to remove any confusion among other dollars, but often times it is also represented as $. Just like any other dollar CAD is also subdivided into 100 cents, CAD is one of the major Forex currencies and is currently the 7th most traded currency in the world.

The CAD, as of today, produces and circulates 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar and 2 dollars. Unfortunately, the production for the 1 cent was discontinued somewhere around the year 2012, banknotes that the CAD produces and circulates are in the form of 5, 10, 20, 50, and of course 100 Canadian dollar. One more thing about the current Canadian bills is, they are made of polymer as of 2011, as opposed to paper for the previous years of production.

Belize Dollar

Belize Dollar or BZD for its ISC code is the major currency of Belize, it is represented as BZ$ for further distinguishing from other dollar currencies. This currency dates as far as 1976; it then replaced the current currency of the country which was the British Honduras Dollar. Like any other dollar, the BZD is also subdivided to 100 cents.

Along with the transforming of British Honduras on late 1976, it also replaced its currency to Belize dollar. It was freed from the British colony in late 1981, now it trades in the rate of BZ$2 to US$1.

Australian Dollar

One of the most popular dollar currency, the Australian dollar or AUD for its ISC code; like most of the dollar currency, AUD is also subdivided to 100 cents. It is commonly represented as A$ to disperse any further confusions.

The AUD was once known as the Australian pound in 1966. But after several years, 1983 to be exactly, the pound was then transfigured from pound to dollar. As of late, the AUD is one of the major currencies exchanged on the world’s Forex markets. It ranks as the 5th most traded currency just behind the USD, EUR, JPY, and GBP.

The AUD circulates coins at 5 cents, 10 cents, 20, cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, and 2 dollars. While the current banknotes circulation it has is as follows; 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. The banknotes circulated are all made from polymer instead of papers.

New Zealand Dollar

The New Zealand Dollar or NZD for its ISO code, the most common symbol the New Zealand dollar is recognized as NZ$. Like any other dollar currency, it is also subdivided to 100 cents. A common slang the NZD has is Kiwi, because of the kiwi bird that is present on their NZ$1 coin.

The NZD replaced the New Zealand pound at 1967, it has been pegged for a quite bit through a series of different currency pegs but has been allowed to float freely since 1985. The NZD is one of the major currencies exchanged on the world’s Forex markets. NZD currently circulates coins in 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, and 2 dollars. It also currently circulates banknotes are 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars.

Trade12Basics is a daily updated blog about the happenings in the stock market, financial realms, and the world economy. It is also a place to find basics in trading and other sorts of tutorials that you can add to your knowledge. Subscribe to further educate yourself about the field that you are to partake in. Trade12Basics is here for you!

The commodity as the Merriam-Webster would define it; an economic good: such as a: a product of agriculture or mining agricultural commodities like grain and corn b: an article of commerce especially when delivered for shipment reported the damaged commodities to officials c: a mass-produced unspecialized product commodity chemicals commodity memory chips.

This simply puts the milk and orange juice we leisurely drink, from the means of energy to power up our homes and vehicles, commodities are a big chunk of our daily lives. In the world of investing, commodities are part of a diversified investment portfolio and they can also be traded in the global marketplace. Commodities are literally anywhere and everywhere in the world, they also garner billions and billions of dollars from investment every day.

Spot versus Future Commodities Trading

The spot price is defined as the current price of a particular market portfolio, in this case, a certain commodity, and can also be bought or sold for the most immediate delivery. One major thing to remember for spot price is that they are very susceptible and subject to extreme volatility. The main difference it has with future prices is that; future prices are increasingly higher over time and higher futures prices reflect carrying costs such as storage.

Commodities are very flexible as it is tradable both in a spot and in future markets. An increasing trend in the commodities community is trading individuals in the form of futures; this happenstance means that you won’t be buying or selling the commodity itself but rather a contract of a certain price by a stated date in the future.

Commodity Trading Round Up

Just like any other investment goal, we would want to buy low and sell high! The only caveats with trading commodity are; 1) Commodities are highly leveraged and 2) Instead of share, commodities traded in contract sizes instead. One more thing to remember when you start trading commodities is that investors can buy and sell positions whenever the markets are open.

The bottom line is, commodities open a wide variety for your investment portfolio. It expands every portfolio from the usual stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Every investment carries risks, but what set trading with commodity apart is the alluring high leverage it brings on the table.

Trade12Basics is a daily updated blog about the happenings in the stock market, financial realms, and the world economy. It is also a place to find basics in trading and other sorts of tutorials that you can add to your knowledge. Subscribe to further educate yourself about the field that you are to partake in. Trade12Basics is here for you

Ready to discover another stock? Here in the Stock Limelight, we feature stock history and background for your future references. Let’s not keep each other waiting and here to be presented: Discovery Communications Inc.

NASDAQ:DISCA

The mass media outlet: Discovery Communications has been loved by home viewers from one country to another. With various channels from general sciences to lifestyle, the company features an informative approach to your everyday TV life presenting an enlightening way of entertainment.

A media organization Discovery Communications is- that is betrothed in serving information across various channels that includes digital distribution arrangements, internationally. The company is divided in to three channels of U.S. Networks, consisting primarily of local television websites, digital distribution arrangements and of course, networks; Global Networks are consisted with predominantly of international TV networks and internet sites; and Education, consisting primarily of products which are based on a curriculum and service offers. Discovery’s global portfolio of networks has television brands like in the names of Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Discovery Communications has had 1 split in stock history.

Stock History

(Chart taken from Yahoo Finance)

Discovery Communications started allowing investors to buy stocks from them 9 years ago from this date. As you can see above, stocks have been on a good bullish trend.

Discovery Communications has just one split recorded. On August 07, 2014, they had their first split in the whole stock trading process. This was a 1957 for 1000 split. Which means for each 1000 shares of DISCA owned pre-splits the shareholder now owned 1957 shares. Moreover, a 1000 share for example, position pre-split, just went to a 1957 share position continuing the split.

The market capitalization before and after the split comes to a steady position which means that the shareholders are now has ownership of more shares but each are valued at a lower range of price per share. This is what happens when a company splits its shares. However, a stock that’s lower on price on a per-share basis can often attract a larger range of clients. If that adds demands then prices of share are expected to not to depreciate, then the overall market capitalization hikes up after the split happens. The thing is this does not happen all the time although sometimes depending on a surface of fundamentals of the business. As we look at the Discovery split history, a thousand of shares would have become 1957 today.

So that’s pretty much about it! Ready to take your next step? But first, you need to review every article here in Trade12Basics and after that, start becoming an investor and trade with Trade12.